


(You know, when I wasn’t using it for sex.)

by softly (alexenglish)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M, Mutual Pining, Trans Character, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 08:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13186119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexenglish/pseuds/softly
Summary: If they invented a way to actually have sex over the internet you and I could use that glorious technology for internet hugs.





	(You know, when I wasn’t using it for sex.)

**Author's Note:**

> [a softer world project](http://queerlyalex.tumblr.com/asofterworld)

 

“Wanna hear the joke Harry told me today?” Niall asks, looking up at Liam through her glasses. They’re half way down the bridge of her nose, but she’s got tools in both hands so instead of fixing them she tilts her head back and stares through the bottom of the lenses.

Ridiculous girl.

“No,” Liam answers truthfully, turning his chair away from the stationary screen he has the engine schematics up on. The screen with their video call follows obediently, projector whirring as it tracks him through the garage.

“Sucks,” Niall says dismissively. “Why don’t robots have brothers?”

Liam sighs, “I have no idea, why?”

“Because they only have trans-sisters!” Niall cackles, left cheek dimpling cutely.

Liam loves technology. Loves high definition, off planet video calls that are good enough to pick up the way the sun’s lightening up Niall’s hair and giving her a mess of new freckles. Loves that he can see every stray hair coming out of her sloppy bun, the shadow of stubble on her jaw, and a glimpse of that mole in the middle of her chest when she leans over, shirt hanging low.

He misses her so much his head hurts.

“It was cute,” Niall says, raising an eyebrow. “Admit it.”

“No,” Liam says, even though it was. He refuses to humor Harry Styles’ bad jokes, mostly because he’s jealous that Harry gets to spend nearly every waking moment with Niall and he doesn’t, but that’s not the point.

“Totes was,” Niall sing-songs, dropping the fine tools and replacing a compartment cover on the prosthetic leg in front of her. She leans out of frame and Liam sees the pile of prostheses on the work table behind her desk. There’s a wide range from human to animal. He feels bad for a moment, distracting her with the call when she has so much to do, but he missed her so much.

“How’re the pronouns going, then?” Liam asks, as she settles back in her chair with a new, smaller screwdriver. He hops up onto the hood of the nearest transporter and settles in. He was going to poke around the engine block a bit, but he likes watching her work. “Speaking of _trans_ -sisters -- ha.”

Niall giggles, pushing her glasses up her nose and looking at him. “It’s hard,” she shrugs, then frowns. “You’d think since I’m trans I’d get the hang of it, but s’not so easy. It’s getting easier. Ce is really understanding, like.”

“Well that’s good, at least,” Liam offers.

“I’m just like, thinking about cir in my head a lot,” Niall says, placing the screwdriver on the desk and tapping at the leg with rhythmic fingers. “Narrate what Harry’s doing as ce does it,” Niall goes on as the leg starts to emit a glowing blue light. Niall jerks back as the foot kicks towards her. She laughs triumphantly and pats the shin, grinning. “‘There Harry goes, wonder what ce’s doing today. Maybe I’ll get cir to come with me to fit the horse leg.’ Shite like that. It’s helping.”

Liam’s own leg tingles, like a sense memory of her working on it right before she left home; all the wires and bits so that his artificial skin had more sensitivity. Something the original engineers of the prosthesis couldn’t even manage, but Niall’s an actual genius; it wasn’t a surprise that she could manage where others couldn’t.

“Oh shit, that’s a good way to do it,” Liam says. He’ll try that sometime. He’s getting better, but he’s still not _good_ at Harry’s pronouns.

“Seems to be working,” Niall hums happily, looking down again.

Liam’s chest aches. He hates that there are hundreds of thousands of miles between them. Like, they’re not even sharing a sun. She’s off on Helion 3 working on a _farm_ fitting injured animals with necessary prosthetic limbs, doing good works and applying her skills on some kickass paid internship. Helion 3 where the days are six hours longer so she keeps getting sunburnt, then complains when the burn turns into freckles -- every single one begging for Liam to kiss them as he tells her to keep quiet, but he _can’t_.

He knows she’s coming back. He knows it’s good for her to be there, learning. There’s nothing more for her at home, a moon so tiny it doesn’t even have a proper name just a letter and a few numbers: P-2569. There’s no real higher education, not the kind she wants -- _needs_ , really… Can’t go a day without thinking about something complicated, can she?

“What’re you thinkin’ about, Payno?” Niall asks, blinking up at him. The foot kicks out again, Niall looks delighted.

“You,” Liam sighs.

Niall’s face goes soft and sweet, eyes fond. “Awe, miss you too,” she says, winking at him. He tries to wink back, she laughs at him delightedly. “Five more weeks n’ I’ll be there.”

“It’s so long,” Liam whines. “All my limbs will have fallen off by then. I’ll come to you _literally_ empty handed.”

“That’s not funny,” Niall says, looking at him over her glasses. “Did you seriously not go for the updates? Have you had _any_ maintenance?”

“I hate when other people work on my arm,” Liam says. “You’re the only one who knows how to do it, right. Old, outdated piece of --”

“Please don’t curse at the mech,” Niall scolds. “It knows when you’re upset.”

Liam scowls. She’s right. He’s not really mad about his arm. It’s held up well for how old it is, even if Niall’s had to reprogram it plenty so it will accept new updates. Which he’s _beyond_ grateful for. It took him years to save up for a newer model for his leg, he can’t afford to buy a new arm anytime soon.

“I know, love,” Liam says, smiling at her. “I’m just whining.”

“I know you are.” Niall laughs at him, nudging her glasses up her nose. “And I know you hadn’t gone for updates. If you had, you’d have known there was a program that allows me to work on it remotely.”

Liam blinks at her. She looks smug as hell. He loves that look on her. God he wishes he could kiss her.

“Work on it? Like where you are?”

“Yeah,” she say. “It’s not like _new_ or anything, it’s just taken forever to get to us poor, outer worlders. I know I’ll be able to do like, electrical and circuit checks. I already have the software installed on my end. Managed to contact old clients like Paddy and them -- doing maintenance will let me earn some extra credits.”

“How’s that work then?” Liam asks, flexing his hand. All the hardware is covered in sythethetic skin and whatnot, but he can hear the creak and buzz as the tiny joints listen to his neural commands. Noisy, old arm.

“There’s a master prosthesis allows me to execute commands from far away.” Niall pats the leg in front of her. “You’ll feel the electrical on your end. Nerve responses and whatnot.”

“That’s stellar,” Liam says, exhaling and smiling. Relief makes his spine unknot the tiniest amount, like her working on him from so far away might actually help how much he misses her.

“It _is_ stellar,” Niall agrees. She grins wickedly before sighing, put upon and dramatic. “If only we could apply that technology elsewhere.”

“It already has a lot of applications,” Liam says, frowning, distracted by the way she takes down her hair and shakes it out, running her hands through it. He thinks about the tickle of it across his chest when they lie together. The way she goes soft and relaxed when he braids it for her. He misses her so much.

“I mean sex, Liam,” Niall says, laughing brightly. Liam flushes, feeling it all over his face as she looks at him over her glasses.

“What like, that you could feel?” Liam asks, scrunching up his nose. He can’t really envision it.

“That’s some rich planet shit, surely,” Niall laughs. Her cheeks are pinking up outrageously, but she doesn’t seem to care. “Like, dildos you can program to feel.”

“Feel?” Liam says, swallowing. Now he can definitely envision it.

“I’m going to figure it out,” Niall says. Her eyes are bright and warm as she winks at him. “Hook one up on my end. Send it to you for your birthday."

Liam’s sure she could figure it out in three days, maybe less. Because she’s a genius. Completely ridiculous, but a genius.

“Can we go back to talking about my arm?” Liam asks, face still _burning up_.

Niall laughs at him so hard, tears come to her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> [reblog on tumblr](http://queerlyalex.tumblr.com/post/169057173477/you-know-when-i-wasnt-using-it-for-sex)


End file.
